Gary Neville has identified a lack of mental fortitude as the primary reason behind Arsenal's dramatic end-of-season collapse, which saw them surrender the Premier League title to Manchester City. The Gunners' 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest on Saturday confirmed City as champions, capping a run of just nine points from their last seven games.
Speaking on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football, Neville pointed to a recurring pattern of late-season struggles, noting that Arsenal's final ten games in each of the last two campaigns have been among the worst for any top-three finisher in Premier League history. 'It's a mentality thing in the final part of the season,' he said, adding that the squad lacked experience in handling pressure.
Neville also referenced the 2021/22 season, when Arsenal squandered a top-four spot to Tottenham with a poor run-in. 'If they'd have got those ten games in both seasons, they'd have been in the Champions League last season and potentially could have been champions this time,' he argued.
Despite his criticism, Neville reserved praise for several Arsenal players in his end-of-season awards, naming Martin Odegaard as young player of the season and including Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli in his team alongside Erling Haaland. Jamie Carragher, however, only selected Odegaard and Oleksandr Zinchenko from the Gunners.
The inquest into Arsenal's capitulation is already under way, with many questioning whether Mikel Arteta's side can learn from their failures and mount a stronger challenge next term.
